You Sexy Thing

You Sexy Thing, Book 1

By: Cat Rambo

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Farscape meets The Great British Bake Off in this fantastic space opera You Sexy Thing from former SFWA president Cat Rambo.

Just when they thought they were out....

TwiceFar station is at the edge of the known universe, and that’s just how Niko Larson, former admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, likes it. Retired and finally free of the continual war of conquest, Niko and the remnants of her former unit are content to spend the rest of their days working at the restaurant they built together, The Last Chance.

But, some wars can’t ever be escaped, and unlike the Hive Mind, some enemies aren’t content to let old soldiers go. Niko and her crew are forced onto a sentient ship convinced that it is being stolen and must survive the machinations of a sadistic pirate king if they even hope to keep the dream of The Last Chance alive.

©2021 Cat Rambo (P)2021 Recorded Books

A fresh approach to the genre

I really enjoyed this story! Cat Rambo breathes new air into a sometimes stagent genre. With a very diverse cast of characters (not all human or humanoid), they are able to look at gender identity and sexuality from a much wider point of view and really think about how it could work. Admittedly, their use of pronouns was a little confusing at first, but reading this book has helped with my own understanding of this relevant topic. The bio ship was also another really interesting take on space travel, AI, and consciousness struggling with newfound feelings vs. its programming. Being a bit of a foodie, I also really liked the culinary aspect that was woven onto the story. This book may not be for everyone, but for those looking for something fresh in sci-fi, I would highly recommend it!

Vivian Leheny delivered a great performance. Her pace was good, and character voices were clear and different enough to understand who was speaking. Without a ton of audio production, she was able to deliver the energy and tone to keep me interested and wanting more.

honest, intelligent, interesting, likable people and “things”

Cat Rambo is rather wonderful. Not surprised to find Val and Martha Wells in The Reinvented Detective. Narrator is also excellent.

This book makes this world a better place, Thank you.

P.S. 5 years means at least four more books after Devil’s Gun right… please?🥹

Fun story

The story moved quickly and the characters were interesting. Can see a future for them. Vivienne Leheny did an excellent job with the character voices. Very consistent.

Delightful Romp!

I blasted through this delightful book after slogging through so many other books. Fun, charming, suspenseful, breathlessly paced. The reader does a great job, too.

A wild ride!

You Sexy Thing is a brilliant new novel by Cat Rambo. The Nebula Award-winning author brings us a delightful space opera for food lovers, featuring a spaceship with a mind of its own and a crew of retired soldiers. As the book’s cover says, there is “no peace for old soldiers,” though they certainly search for it.

Nicolette Larsen retired from the Holy Hive Mind with the remnants of her multi-species military unit to a station at the far edge of the universe and invested their retirement funds into a restaurant named The Last Chance. While the restaurant had not been Nico’s idea, it had been a brilliant plan to escape the Holy Hive Mind while they could, and they had a talent for it. A food critic was coming to consider The Last Chance for a coveted Nikkelin Orb, which could only increase their profits.

Disaster during the critic’s dinner, however, meant fleeing the station with their restaurant guests. Nico and her crew take refuge in a sentient ship named You Sexy Thing, along with the mysterious food critic and another, more troublesome guest. The ship welcomes them warmly, but later informs them it is taking them to a prison planet and turning them over for attempting to steal it. Chaos ensues… with food.

Billed as Farscape meets The Great British Bakeoff, You Sexy Thing is a wild ride filled with twists and turns.

Uneven and darker than expected

This started out as promised, with a Farscape meets Cooking Show kind of campy vibe. However, it very quickly turns into a Lost in Space episode as 6.5 hours are spent with Niko, her crew, and some interesting strays trapped on a sentient ship named You Sexy Thing. During their flight captivity, there’s some cool concepts explored, like the Hive military framework that Niko and her crew have only somewhat managed to separate from. The personalities and backgrounds of the members aboard are filled in a little. The ship learns and evolves as the story progresses.
But so little happens in the way of action, fun, or clever dialogue that I almost gave up.

Then, in the second half, the tone went dark, with several hours spent on torture, including severed fingers, a yanked tooth, and death by a thousand bites. Along with the physical torture, there’s psychological torture. Then there’s the themes of betrayal and revenge.
And here again I considered stopping.

I persevered and finished, only to be put out at the non-ending. There’s a mild confrontation between the crew and the villain (from a distance) that doesn’t actually resolve anything. It’s like getting an Empire Strikes Back Middle without having the first high-octane book to invest me.

There are occasional, and in my opinion unnecessary, F bombs (especially with some very creative cussing already thrown down). There’s indirect references to alien sex. There’s also a lot of talking and philosophizing that sometimes feels preachy, like all the speeches about what it is to be noble, or when we’re assured that sex isn’t just for breeding, and it’s okay for different kinds of coupling to occur because we all deserve pleasure.

Yet, despite it all, I would get book 2 and hope for improvement. The characters (especially the alien ones) and concepts are unique and come alive under Ms. Leheny’s narration. This contains one of the better written characters who goes by “they,” both in terms of pronoun use and complexity of character.
And frankly, I just need the closure that only vanquishing the villain will provide.

The narrator's sibilance is physically painful to listen to

I really tried to get into the story. It has all the pieces of a story I should love. But unfortunately the narrator didn't bother to run their recording through a proper de esser, resulting in extreme sibilance that is actually painful to listen to.

Not what I was expecting

Based on other reviews, I was expecting a fun slice-of-life at a space restaurant. The restaurant part barely even features, it’s mostly a space adventure. It also features gruesome torture and death. There are some fun moments, but it’s by no means a light read. But it’s still a decent story, I just wish I knew before-hand what kind of story it was.

Solid but meandering story

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Honestly, it felt more like the first book in a series....and if this is a standalone book I'm going to be really, really annoyed. The plot kind of meandered, in that through most of the story the protagonist (and her crew) really do not seem in control of what is happening to them, they're just trying to react the best they can. I guess the annoying part was that Rambo really did an excellent job developing the characters and making them seem very competent, but then they're thrown into situations where everything is out of their control, so they cannot utilize their competency to really take control of their situation.

Leheny did an excellent job with the narration. She just disappeared behind the narration and voices and characters and the story was forefront - which is the mark of an excellent narrator, in my mind. Definitely wouldn't hesitate to listen to another story she narrates.

I don't know - I still enjoyed the book, but Rambo laid down so many elements and hints at the future, that I really, really want to see what happens next with this crew. That said, this felt like the lead up to a really fascinating series of events or adventures....which Rambo hints are in the future. So, please, please, continue this story!